I really like the concept of decolonization and the idea of curriculum as place. I was first introduced to the idea of “place” in my outdoor education course last year. We had an assignment where we had to choose our own personal outdoor place and were simply told to go and spend time there and jot down what we noticed, what we thought about, what we felt, etc. This assignment seemed kind of strange at first but after I actually started going to my place and spending some time just sitting outside it really changed my perspective on the outdoors. I felt so calm and so free from everyday worries. Things like grades and homework and other stresses seemed so unimportant and small. This idea of place is really another way to observe the world. Some people may value this way of thinking and importance instead of the culture of work, school, appearances and such.
I think as a physical education minor the idea of place can easily be implemented into teaching. It is probably one of the easiest subjects to include outdoor education in so even doing a “place” assignment similar to the one I did would be beneficial for students to broaden their ways of knowing. Many young people nowadays don’t have the opportunity to experience connections with the outdoors. However, some children like the examples from the article may have this experience of traditional ways of knowing and this would be a great opportunity for them to thrive and even share with other students what they know.
As an English major I think that this subject could get into more of the theoretical ideas behind place and decolonization. Reading articles like the one assigned this week could be beneficial for students to understand the concepts behind traditional ways of knowing. You could also do a similar place assignment and have the students express their findings through writing. Whether it is poetry, essays, or even just jot notes.
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